5 construction officials held resoponsible for Indian overpass collapse

Indian police on Friday detained five officials of a company constructing an overpass that collapsed onto a crowded Kolkata neighborhood, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 80.

Rescuers cleared the crumbled concrete and twisted metal rods a day after the collapse in the crowded area of the eastern Indian city. They have pulled out 67 people alive.

“There is no possibility of finding any person alive,” said S.S. Guleria, deputy inspector general of the India’s National Disaster Response Force. He said engineers were being consulted about part of the overpass still hanging over the disaster area, after which workers will “slowly start dismantling this particular section to avoid any collateral damage to houses around it.”

The five detained employees worked for Hyderabad-based IVRCL Infrastructure Co., which was contracted in 2007 to build the overpass. Police also sealed its Kolkata office.